2,869 Shares in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) Purchased by Mutual of America Capital Management LLC

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,869 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 205,208 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,656,000 after buying an additional 20,888 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 98.8% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 37,173 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,655,000 after purchasing an additional 18,472 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $413,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 356.2% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,012 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,571 shares during the period. Finally, AMI Asset Management Corp increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp now owns 42,619 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,044,000 after purchasing an additional 8,683 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on LGND shares. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 12th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $144.00 target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LGND opened at $69.89 on Wednesday. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $49.24 and a fifty-two week high of $94.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.41 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.86.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.55. Ligand Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 37.80% and a return on equity of 11.98%. The business had revenue of $28.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.54 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen L. Sabba sold 1,893 shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.30, for a total value of $140,649.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 28,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,149,201.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 10.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development and licensing of biopharmaceutical assets worldwide. Its commercial programs include Kyprolis and Evomela, which are used to treat multiple myeloma; Rylaze, a recombinant erwinia asparaginase for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma in adult and pediatric patients; Filspari, a dual endothelin and angiotensin II receptor antagonist in development for rare kidney diseases and non-immunosuppressive treatment indicated for immunoglobulin A nephropathy; Teriparatide injection product for osteoporosis; Vaxneuvance for the prevention of invasive disease caused by streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes; and Pneumosil, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to help fight against pneumococcal pneumonia among children.